


The Afterlife

by TheLostLibran



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Eventual Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, First War with Voldemort, Fluff and Angst, Magical Theory (Harry Potter), Multi, Multi-Era, Not Canon Compliant, POV Third Person, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26127211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLostLibran/pseuds/TheLostLibran
Summary: On 31st of October, 1981, James and Lily Potter died at the hands of Voldemort. It wasn't the end, however. Only after they pass through the Veil do they realise that other unprecedented threats lurk ahead. Only on passing onto Afterlife do they realise that Darkness extends beyond the mortal realm.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon/Other(s), Regulus Black/Fabian Prewett, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This new story is a WIP. I'm planning to make it long and hopefully extend it into a 2/3 part series. It mainly features those that have already died but all other HP characters also make an appearance regularly.
> 
> This work is only for entertainment purposes. I do not own the characters nor do I make money from this work. Harry Potter and Co. belong to JK Rowling and WB.

James Potter was anxiously pacing his living room, clutching his hair tightly and forcing out gusts of air when he heard the sound, a low but distinct metallic clank followed by a higher pitched creek as the front gate opened. He abruptly stopped and turned his head in the direction of the main door of the house, chills shooting up his spine even as sizzling waves of horror settled upon his skin, raising it in tiny bumps of gooseflesh. A thousand thoughts whirred through his head as he dashed to the staircase, wand in hand, stance ready.

‘Lily, take Harry and go!’ he yelled, surprised he could actually get his vocal cords to work, let alone scream in warning. ‘It’s him! I’ll hold him off!’

It was probably his animal senses sharpening at the threat of danger or those instincts he developed running in the Forbidden forest with Moony for years, but he was aware of each step Voldemort took towards his house. He knew he was facing his death, he knew death was in fact hunting him like he was the prey, he knew chances were extremely high that he’d die young, hopefully leaving behind a wife and son he didn’t get to spend any proper amount of time with and yet, he waited with bated breath in his foyer, wand, eyes and ears, all trained on the knob.

 _‘I love you and I’m very proud of you, Harry,’_ he thought to himself, tightening his grip on his wand as the door rattled and the knob turned.

Voldemort barely allowed him time to cast. No, he didn’t allow James _any_. He had hardly entered when he flicked his wand and green light burst forth. ‘Avada Kedavra!’

Blinded by the jet of green racing towards him, James’ eyes shut involuntarily and when he opened them again, it was to catch himself from falling face first into the ground from stumbling over something. He brushed his trousers as he stood trying to dispel the thick fog clouding his vision and preventing sight. James waited until his eyes adjusted and then let them roam all around him, taking in everything he could.

It seemed to be a lone road flanked by barren lands on either side, with patches of yellowed grass growing haphazardly. The air was cool and smelt of woods and earth after a night of heavy rain, along with hints of cocoa, lavender, leather and varnish. He turned to see where he had come from and frowned.

A few feet from him was a low rung like structure made of iron, with intricate carvings on one side and cracked ridges on its upper surface. Upon first glance, it didn’t make much sense to him, it just looked as if it arose out of the dry asphalt of the road. But as his gaze focussed and travelled upwards, he could make out silvery shimmering of an invisible sheath that fluttered. His eyes widened in realisation- the Veil!

He kept staring at it, his memories slamming back into him with full force. He was almost reeling from the betrayal of Wormtail when the Veil sparkled again, crackling sounds filling his ears as a red headed woman fell through.

James darted forward to catch her in his arms and waited until his wife could orient herself, tears stinging behind his eye balls at the implications.

‘Lily,’ he breathed, cuddling her closer to his chest. His cruel mind started supplying him with images of his wife fighting Voldemort and the frightened shrieks of his one year old as he pictured spells being fired from every direction. His heart clenched as he envisioned Harry’s fear and Lily’s helplessness. He clutched her tightly, swallowing back the grief that threatened to pour out of him.

Lily spluttered awake, coughing and heaving as she slowly sat up. James was looking down at her and she knew her face reflected each and every emotion he was feeling at that moment. She clung to him even as he helped her to her feet, both taking and giving the support they both desperately needed.

She was not sure what exactly had happened, and why. Voldemort had blasted off the door to Harry’s nursery and had asked her to _stand aside_. He had killed James without batting an eyelid and yet wanted to _spare_ her? It didn’t make any sense.

She had refused to give Harry up and in a single moment of wild and insane bravery, fuelled by her fierce, violent and ferocious love for her son, she had screamed loud enough to shatter glass as she threw herself in the line of fire. The last thing she remembered was hearing a thunderous wail and a blast of blinding white light.

‘Harry!’ she cried, heart in her throat, beating furiously, drowning out every other sensory input that wanted to distract her, as she hooked her eyes onto the Veil. She didn’t know what she was waiting for- Harry to come through or the Veil to close. Both seemed equally selfish and it broke her heart to see what her options came down to.

‘Lily,’ James called, his tone hesitant and nervous.

It was impossible to tear her eyes away but she did look at James when he moved closer to her and wrapped a protective arm around her. Lily then noticed the shift in atmosphere. The air around them felt charged, the scent of lemon, lavender and coffee that assaulted her nostrils as soon as she entered, disappearing as though they had never been there. She followed his gaze and gasped.

James’ eyes leapt in three directions, scanning the visible perimeter of the fog cautiously as silhouettes kept pouring from it, walking towards them. He didn’t know where he was or why, but he had to protect his wife again and he would. He rolled his shoulders, knocking them into Lily’s, who was now standing back to back with him, and twisted the wand in his hand, his subconscious belatedly registering the eleven inch mahogany he still held. They had practiced duelling and defence in the months they had been hiding and their current stance came naturally to them.

‘Can we fight them?’ Lily whispered.

‘I don’t know. Does magic even work here?’ James asked, watching the line of people at his front and left.

The approaching figures drew closer and both Lily and James braced themselves.

Lily swept her eyes on those at her front and right. ‘We’re about to find out.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few days over the promised fortnightly updates but here we are!

Ten minutes passed. There was an eerie stillness to the scene before their eyes that James didn’t know how to interpret. A thick and heavy calm hung in the air, the kind that occupied the skies before a storm. It probably would have been suffocating to others but James felt like he had been ready for this kind of combat for years now. He tightened the grasp on his wand as he waited for them to make their first move.

Behind him, Lily seemed to have come to similar conclusions. She drew back slightly, her sharp green eyes never once leaving the group before her. The fog that parted for their attackers was again gathering rapidly, reducing their already dim visibility. It was becoming evident that they had to move forward into whatever place this was, and for that to happen, they had to first best this crowd. It also looked as if James and Lily would have to fire first.

James sighed. It was never a good sign. Their predicament was quickly turning from bad to worse and they were already outnumbered.

‘How many?’ he asked out of the corner of his mouth.

‘I counted twenty on my side,’ Lily replied, teeth gritted and mouth set.

‘Eighteen here, think we can make it work?’

‘Only if it’s Waltz.’

James almost dropped his stance and looked at his wife incredulously. ‘Maybe we should wait and see if we get any backup,’ he remarked, acknowledging his Auror Code of Conduct Manual that was waving a neon placard in his head. ‘It usually wouldn’t do, being the first to attack.’

Lily was silent for a few seconds. ‘What if _they_ get back up, then? How can you even be sure that whoever comes, will come for us?’

‘Yet, Lil. I don’t like this any more than you do, but we ought to be careful. We don’t even know what place this is. Let’s not provike them.'

The sound of a single sizzle filled the air in the time it took Lily to answer. She switched her wand into her left hand and pointed it to a place farther to her left.

‘They should have thought of it before they fired that pathetic excuse of a jinx. We have to retaliate, James,’ Lily snapped, flexing her fingers against her wand.

‘Waltz?’ James asked.

‘Waltz,’ Lily confirmed.

It wasn’t their best strategy by any means. They had been perfecting spell casting, offence and defence ever since they went into hiding. It seemed better and more useful than sitting around worried, moping and helpless. They had both collectively figured that if they were going to fight the Death Eaters again, which seemed more plausible as the days passed, they’d rather be prepared than not. It led to practice sessions whenever they could sneak in some time, usually when Harry was napping or one of their friends was over. Sirius had a lot of inputs regarding overthrowing the Unforgivables, Cruciatus in particular. On the rare occasions when both Remus and Sirius had visited them, all the four found themselves discussing strategies. Remus and Lily had been the ones to come up with this special sequence that they called “Waltz”. The only time they relaxed had been with Peter and the rat…

Waltz was a series of carefully choreographed dance moves, designed exclusively for the purposes of dual fighting. If Fabian and Gideon Prewett, champion duellers and charms specialists, had gone down, then James and Lily’s chances of saving Harry were slim. Granted, the Prewett brothers had fought five against two, but James had reasoned that the number would likely be higher if the Death Eaters came for them. Lily, Remus and Sirius had nodded, expressions somber. Work on dual combat had started right away. They had so far trained only with music, now they had to remember it from memory to fend these people off.

‘Ready when you are,’ James whispered to his wife, warily eyeing the crowd that was steadily encroaching forwards.

Lily swung her gaze in a one-eighty before yelling, ‘Now!’

She fired off a Stupefy to her left as James threw up a modified Fianto Duri over both of them, that enabled the ones within it to cast. At the sight of one of their men blasting off backwards, the crowd snarled, low hisses and growls accompanying. A stream of blue raced towards them but knowing their shield would hold, James turned to Lily and they pulled each other by their elbows into their first move. They leapt in opposite directions, Lily’s wand flying into her dominant hand and throwing a Petrificus Totalus towards an oncoming assailant. He fell to the ground with a satisfying thud. One group targeted Lily, another focused on James and the last one carried out the assault on their shield, a mixture of blue, green and red striking it incessantly from all directions. Cracks were beginning to appear and Lily started aiming more target specific hexes through those gaps, visibility slightly better now that all the wandwork was lighting up the area. A scream towards her right alerted her to another spell and she swivelled back around in time to dodge it.

James, meanwhile, was having plenty of success. He spun on one leg, casting Flipendos in every direction he could. He frequently transferred his wand from one hand to another, sending jinxes and hexes when the target was nearer. The attackers started falling on each other, both from James’ spells and in their attempt to topple over one another. Just as they had practiced before, James and Lily moved instinctually, gliding across the dome shaped shield. It would be a few more minutes before it would completely give, but they could both see that at least a small number of their opponents were down. Lily sprinted into James’ arms and he caught her, twirling as she arched her back and fired off three stunners, before righting herself and flinging a Depulso behind James’ back as the first of their attackers breached their shield. The man flew back into three others and took them down with him. Lily flung an Immobulus to seal them off while James flicked his wand over his wife’s shoulder at two others. 

The Potters jumped high, clasping their hands in the air and rotating once again, hurled spells everywhere as they came down, each of their Impediments, Reductors and Tarantallegras catching their targets spot on. In the split second it took for the others’ to burst through and attack them once again, Lily erected a Protego Maxima and strengthened it up with a Salvio Hexia.

‘It won’t hold long,’ she panted, exhausted. James took up an open stance beside her again and started counting their numbers. Seventeen remained out of the thirty eight but they were still too many to fight simultaneously.

Just when the others’ grouped for a single joint attack, there was a flurry of spells, some from above them and some from, as it appeared, behind the crowd, the area lighting up in a multicoloured mosaic. Lily exchanged a relieved grin with James but they still held their positions. With the extra help, all the thirty eight were on the ground in a matter of minutes. Ropes of Incarcerous flew around each of them as they were all either stunned or petrified.

‘Gather them up and transport them back to the base for interrogation,’ a crisp, clear voice barked orders.

Lily could see the silhouette of a woman approaching them. A wave of a hand had the fog receding as the woman came further into view. James’ jaw dropped on seeing her and if Lily’s gasp-shriek was any indication, she felt the same.

‘Marlene!’ Lily squeaked, eyes wide and tone incredulous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask me what I was thinking when I wrote the waltz. Because I wasn't.😉
> 
> I wanted to try something new and I'm glad that I did :)
> 
> Updates every 15 days.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

'You are going to do what?' asked a flabbergasted Minerva McGonagall. Over the past few hours, news had kept pouring in from seemingly everywhere. There had been a betrayal, James and Lily Potter were dead and Voldemort had vanished. One year old Harry James Potter was the miraculous survivor who was currently being rescued by Hogwarts Gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. In spite of the mess the wizarding world was in right now, the most distressing news she heard that day came from an entirely unexpected source.

Sat before her was Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, a picture of fatigue and exhaustion. She knew that her mentor was prone to thoughts and decisions that lead to doubts on his sanity but this beat all his previous actions by a mile and then some.

'Minerva,' Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his eyes, 'I'm aware of your feelings but I'm afraid the issue at hand is far too serious to be judged based on our emotions.'

Minerva grit her teeth. 'Because you have applied a fair bit of logic in your decision?' She spoke before he could answer her. 'Ofcourse, it's perfectly rational to implicate Black without a trial just as it's perfectly sensible to entrust a baby to the care of someone who loathes his mother. Forgive me for my momentary lapse in logic.'

Dumbledore threw his head back. 'It may not be the most rational but it is the most reasonable option we have before us. I'm afraid our choices are limited and the time given to choose, even more so.'

'What is reasonable, Professor Dumbledore,' Minerva glared, 'is that Sirius Black be given a chance to stand trial. What is reasonable is that we have a little more faith in a student we tutored than the hearsay going on around. What is reasonable is that until a decision is reached and a verdict is pronounced, we look for someone who, although poor, will be the complete opposite of hostile to an infant.'

'Minerva,' Dumbledore warned.

'Albus,' she countered coolly. 'I was an Auror for quite some time before I came to Hogwarts. I've participated in my fair share of raids and arrests and every person there was given a chance to speak, be it the perpetrator or the victim. You,' she pointed an accusing finger at him, 'are standing by and watching as they are taking away that right from one of your students.'

Dumbledore stood up from his chair and began walking the length of his office. Every headmaster in the portrait was listening intently to their conversation. Just like her, they all seemed to have their own opinion of the situation. Dumbledore was struggling under their scrutiny as well as the circumstances of the night and to Minerva, it was clearly visible no matter how hard her teacher tried to hide it. 'You do know that it is not my intention to fault Black for what has happened.'

Minerva frowned at that. 'You don't sound as sure, Albus. You suspect him because of his family.'

'I suspect him because there were witnesses,' Dumbledore said calmly.

Minerva knew it wasn't the real reason. She recognised a lie when she heard one. Dumbledore had never trusted Sirius but it was only showing now. Leaning back in her chair, she fixed the headmaster with a look. 'I shall take it as an insult to my intelligence and our years of friendship that you think you can dupe me, let alone with a barefaced lie at that.'

Dumbledore didn't speak for a while. 'A leopard doesn't change it's spots, Minerva,' he said at last.

There was a tone of defeat in his voice that was difficult for her to place. Their Order of the Phoenix had failed and Death Eaters were on the rise and succeeding from what she heard but Voldemort had disappeared. As tragic as the rest of it was, that counted as a win, nevertheless. She, therefore, couldn't understand what Dumbledore was so upset about. It perhaps was his inability to protect the Potters but going by his decision to hand over Harry to his relatives, she didn't think he seemed particularly remorseful. 'Explains why he sorted Gryffindor,' she scoffed instead.

Dumbledore laughed, unamused. 'I'm more than aware of the good and bad in every house, just as you are aware that this has nothing to do with Sirius' sorting.'

'But-' Minerva interrupted.

Dumbledore cut her off. 'I admire your ability to place implicit trust in others, Minerva, but there are some hard ground facts that can't just be ignored. It is true that Sirius was abused, abandoned and disowned by his family. Hence, it couldn't be false that he was trying to win back their favour.'

Minerva could only see red after that deliberate malobservation. 'Surely by family, you mean the Potters who took him in, fed him and loved him? Or is it James who considered Sirius his brother and made him Harry's godfather? By your own logic of loyalty, shouldn't today's result be the opposite of what it is?'

Dumbledore turned to face her, arms crossed across his chest, a deep frown marring his face. 'It seems to me that you have reached your conclusions without a proper examination of the facts.'

'Just like you and everyone else have reached yours. We are equally biased and I suppose, can no longer point fingers at others,' was all Minerva said in response. 

They looked at each other for a long moment, gauging the changes happening within and around themselves at a molecular level in the light of a terrible tragedy. Defeat was written in every line of Dumbledore's body as determination sunk deep into Minerva's tightly gripped fists. Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of his age, had given up. His pupil, Minerva McGonagall, was not going to.

She pushed back her chair quietly and rose to her feet. 'The need of the hour is greater than all our grief combined. This isn't just about Black, Albus. I hope you also realise that Harry Potter shall not be staying with Petunia. If you can look past your suspicions and be as truly objective regarding this as you've implored me to be, I'd like to mention that it would all go much faster and smoother with your help.'

Dumbledore glanced out the window of his tower onto the green hills of Scotland, the first dawn of November just beginning to break. He only said, 'That is not the only important work we have right now.'

Minerva stared at his back for exactly two seconds before marching out of his office. She was going to get Sirius Black a trial if that was the last thing she would do.

**Author's Note:**

> 3 chapters have already been posted to my Insta @thelibranarchives. You can read them there but since I'm on a break from posting on Insta, chapter 4 will be posted in October.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!
> 
> Fortnightly updates!


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